1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to chewing base compositions, and particularly to non-adhesive chewing gum compositions that do not adhere to dentures, fillings or natural teeth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Non-adhesive chewing gum compositions have been of continuing interest, as conventional chewing gums tend to adhere to dental surfaces, including natural teeth, fillings and dentures, and have accordingly lessened the enjoyment of chewing the gum. U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,574 discloses purported non-tack chewing gum compositions which claim to reduce adhesion by eliminating certain common base ingredients such as elastomers, resins and waxes that the patentee states causes the gums to be undesirably sticky.
An alternate approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,241,091, where the suggestion is made to add a "slip agent" to a chewing gum base composition to reduce its stickiness.
The prior art proposals require the modification of well known gum base formulations, by either the deletion of certain common ingredients, or the inclusion of other ingredients, in each case requiring adjustment of the gum base to assure the maintenance of desired gum characteristics.
The preparation of the chewing gum base has also been an area in need of improvement. In particular, various techniques have been proposed to modify the combination of the ingredients of the gum base, to improve plasticity and uniformity of the gum base and to thereby improve the quality of the resulting chewing gum. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,320 discloses a two-stage process for preparing a chewing gum base, that utilizes an initial high shear mixing of the elastomer alone, and thereafter, the elastomer together with its solvent and an oleaginous plasticizer in a first stage, after which the remaining ingredients of the gum base may be combined in specific sequence related to their viscosity. The patent also states that further prior art attempts to improve uniformity have included three-step procedures where certain of the plasticizer ingredients must be added at critical times and under particular conditions, to effect uniform mixing.
It would therefore be desirable to develop a non-adhesive chewing gum base composition that offers an improvement in the reduction of gum stickiness, without the need for substantial or expensive modifications to gum base formulations. It would also be desirable to develop a method for preparing a chewing gum base composition, that yields an improved uniform product without the need for observing intricate or critical process parameters.